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Nile crocodiles occasionally prey on big cats including lions and leopards. [24] [42] [61] [75] However, in order to save energy, crocodiles do not prefer such agile animals, as most attacks will end before they can strike. Thus they usually attack agile prey in the absence of regular prey items.
Their tongues are not free, but held in place by a membrane that limits movement; as a result, crocodiles are unable to stick out their tongues. [31] Crocodiles have smooth skin on their bellies and sides, while their dorsal surfaces are armoured with large osteoderms. The armoured skin has scales and is thick and rugged, providing some protection.
The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and central regions of the continent, and lives in different types of aquatic environments such as lakes, rivers, swamps and marshlands. [3]
Adults do not normally eat their own offspring but there is some evidence of subadults feeding on juveniles, while subadults may be preyed on by adults. Adults appear more likely to protect juveniles and may chase away subadults from nurseries. Rival male Nile crocodiles sometimes kill each other during the breeding season. [141]
According to Oceana, crocodiles and related species have a PR problem: If you were to encounter them face to face, they’d probably be just as unhappy (and eager to get away) as you.
On the other hand, sub-adult saltwater crocodiles weighing only 8.7 to 15.8 kg (19 to 35 lb) (and measuring 1.36 to 1.79 m (4 ft 6 in to 5 ft 10 in)) have been recorded killing and eating goats weighing 50 to 92% of their own body mass in Orissa, India, and so are capable of attacking large prey from an early age.
The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics.It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida, the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, [4] and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8 ft 6 in to 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9 ft 10 in to 19 ft 8 in).